"Right, Atlantis." Vegeta nodded slightly. "I remember now."
"Even though he won't be much use," Nappa sighed, "there are so few Saiyans left that you can count them on one hand."
"Bring him here," Vegeta snorted. "We'll put him to work as our support staff."
"He'll be grateful beyond words, I'm sure." Nappa laughed. "That planet's technology is pretty mediocre—not even as advanced as Earth's. He'll probably be stuck there forever, unable to get off the planet."
The two exchanged a smile.
Three hours passed in the blink of an eye.
The sun had moved from directly overhead to the western sky.
Goku still hadn't come.
"Time's up." Vegeta snorted coldly, rising from the rock and brushing the dust off himself. "There's no point waiting any longer."
He tilted his head and swept a cold gaze over the three of them.
"That coward Kakarot isn't coming!"
"My dad isn't a coward!" Son Gohan shouted, his little face flushed red.
"Oh, no!" Krillin wailed, his legs going weak. "Why hasn't Goku come yet?"
He turned to look at the distant sky, then at Piccolo.
Piccolo didn't say anything. He just gritted his teeth.
"Fine." Nappa strode forward and clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking.
He sighed, a trace of regret in his voice.
"It's a shame Kakarot isn't here!"
"I'm going to die." Krillin looked ready to cry, his voice trembling. "I don't even have a girlfriend yet!"
"We have a slim chance of winning," Piccolo said in a low voice. "If everything goes right, that is!"
Krillin and Son Gohan immediately turned to look at Piccolo.
A faint glimmer of hope ignited in their eyes.
"First," Piccolo said in a hushed voice, watching Nappa and Vegeta from the corner of his eye, "Krillin will distract him."
Krillin swallowed and nodded.
"Then I'll seize the chance to grab the Saiyan's weak point—his tail!" Piccolo continued.
"Okay." Krillin took a deep breath and agreed reluctantly.
"Once he can't fight back," Piccolo said to Gohan, "you attack him with everything you've got!"
"Y-yes." Son Gohan nodded again and again, terrified. His little hands were clenched into fists, still trembling.
Even so, he gathered his courage and said, "I won't run away this time. Don't worry!"
Piccolo lowered his head and looked at Son Gohan. "Just remember that the fate of Earth is in your hands."
Son Gohan looked up and moved his lips, but no words came out.
After a pause,
Piccolo took a deep breath and lowered his voice, with a rare hint of gentleness. "Gohan, as long as you believe in yourself and fight bravely, your power is even greater than mine."
Gohan's mouth twitched. His Adam's apple bobbed, and his heart pounded as though it would leap from his chest.
I don't want to fight.
I want to be a great scholar.
But he didn't say it aloud. He only clenched his fists tightly.
"All right!" Krillin shouted, slamming his fists together in front of him. "Let's do this!"
He clenched his fists, bent his knees slightly, and gathered his ki beneath his feet. His gaze locked on Nappa as he prepared to charge over and distract him.
But just then—
"Whoosh!"
A fireball suddenly appeared high in the sky.
It hurtled toward the ground in the distance at incredible speed, leaving a long white trail behind it.
The fireball stood out against the blue sky, like a burning meteor.
Vegeta looked up and narrowed his eyes at the sky.
Nappa stopped advancing as well and tilted his head back, following the fireball with his gaze.
Krillin, Son Gohan, and Piccolo had also spotted it, and all three looked up at the sky.
"A spaceship?" Nappa froze and scratched his bald head. "Isn't that a spaceship from the Frieza Force?"
"Hm?" Vegeta narrowed his eyes and peered into the distance toward the fireball. The corners of his mouth drooped slightly. "Is it one of Frieza's men?"
"Vegeta." Nappa frowned and turned to ask him, "Does Frieza know we came to Earth? Did we report our trip to Earth to him?"
"Hmph." Vegeta snorted, raising his chin slightly. "There was no need!"
He raised his hand and pressed the button on the side of his Scouter.
A string of numbers appeared on the Scouter's screen.
"What's the power level of the guy who's coming?" Nappa hurried over to ask.
"Only 1,000." Vegeta glanced at the screen, a contemptuous smile curling his lips. "Probably just a low-ranking soldier sent to scout the place."
"A power level of 1,000!" Nappa immediately perked up. He rubbed his hands together, a cruel smile spreading across his face. "That's hilarious! Should we just wipe him out?"
"Let's see what happens first." Vegeta thought for a moment, folded his arms, and looked again at the descending fireball.
Piccolo, Krillin, and Son Gohan were also staring blankly at the approaching spaceship.
Krillin swallowed and lowered his voice. "That's... that looks like a Saiyan spaceship!"
He turned to Piccolo, a trace of unease in his eyes.
"Could there be other Saiyans besides those two?"
"No." Piccolo slowly shook his head, keeping his eyes fixed on the spaceship. "Judging by their expressions, the person coming isn't a Saiyan."
He paused.
"Probably only a few of you Saiyans are left."
"Even if he isn't a Saiyan," Krillin said, his face growing deathly pale, "judging by the spaceship's design, he could still be one of their allies. This is really bad!"
After a brief daze,
Krillin's eyes darted about. He suddenly lowered his voice and leaned close to Piccolo's ear to whisper, "Piccolo, that guy's watching the spaceship land right now. Why don't we take the chance to grab his tail?"
"It won't work." Piccolo slowly shook his head, never taking his eyes off Nappa and Vegeta. "That would only make him wary."
"Rumble!"
The next moment, the spaceship carrying Soro landed on the ground in the distance.
Scorching air blasted from beneath the ship, kicking up clouds of dust.
The ground shook violently as the hot wind sent rocks tumbling in every direction.
When the dust settled, a massive crater remained in the ground.
"Creak!"
The spaceship's hatch opened, and white vapor billowed through the gap.
Soro stepped out of the ship.
He set foot on the uneven ground and looked up at the unfamiliar sky, taking a deep breath.
Then he slowly rose into the air.
He glanced around, and the first thing Soro sensed was several powerful auras in the distance.
Before you continue